Five of the best… new classical concerts

Dennis Russell Davies. Photograph: Benno Hunziker

1: Pierre-Laurent Aimard Plays Messiaen

Pierre-Laurent Aimard is one of the leading interpreters of Olivier Messiaen’s piano music. In June he’s marking his last year as artistic director of the Aldeburgh festival by playing the epic Catalogue d’Oiseaux in a dawn-to-dusk series of recitals; as a foretaste he’s tackling Messiaen’s other great piano work, the Vingt Regards De L’Enfant-Jesus.

Milton Court Concert Hall, EC2, Sat

2: Mariinsky Orchestra

Valery Gergiev may no longer be the LSO’s chief conductor, but he’ll still be a regular visitor here with the Mariinsky. Gergiev will be on the podium for the ballet’s performances of The Rite Of Spring, as well as conducting Prokofiev – Peter And The Wolf in Cardiff and Romeo And Juliet in London.

Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, Sat & Sun; Cadogan Hall, SW1, Mon

3: Jenůfa

Thanks to his years as the BBC Symphony’s chief conductor, Jiří Bělohlávek’s excellence as an interpreter of his native Czech repertory is well known. He’s back in London with the Czech Philharmonic for a performance of one of the greatest of Czech operas, Janáček’s Jenůfa.

Royal Festival Hall, SE1, Mon

4: Bruckner Orchestra Linz

Visiting orchestras must choose between attracting audiences and showing how enterprising they can be. There’s a nice balance in the first British tour by the orchestra from Anton Bruckner’s home town, under its chief conductor Dennis Russell Davies: Beethoven and some Bruckner, of course, but also Philip Glass’s ninth symphony.

Cadogan Hall, SW1, Thu & Fri

5: Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Being one of a select band of ensembles that Oliver Knussen conducts, he invariably puts together intriguing programmes for his appearances with this orchestra. The latest is framed by rarely heard first symphonies by Henze and Mendelssohn.

City Halls, Glasgow, Fri